Houthi Strikes on Saudi Airports Kill Three People and Injure 36
The cross-border missile and drone assaults threaten international aviation and escalate regional combat following the breakdown of a United Nations truce.
Yemen’s Houthi forces launched drone and missile strikes against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport on Tuesday and Wednesday. The attacks killed three civilians and injured 36 others across both facilities, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation reported.
At the Riyadh airport, the strike killed one Sudanese national and injured eight people. The injured victims included five Saudi citizens, two Egyptian residents, and one Pakistani resident.
At Abha International Airport, strikes killed two women and injured 28 people. Saudi aviation authorities said the deceased were Algerian and Moroccan nationals. Earlier reporting from Agence France-Presse and Al Jazeera stated the victims were Egyptian and Algerian.
Houthi forces claimed another ballistic missile strike against the Riyadh airport on Thursday, claiming they stopped flight operations. The strikes disrupted air traffic across the region. Workers installed defensive cage fencing around Aramco fuel facilities near the Riyadh airport following earlier explosions and fire.
A separate Houthi projectile landed near the runway at Aden International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday. That attack forced a commercial flight from Cairo to divert to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group targeted the Riyadh facility with ballistic missiles and drones. Saree warned international airlines to stop operating in Saudi airspace. He stated that airspace over Mecca and Medina remained exempt from targeting.
Saudi-led coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh. Al-Maliki said coalition forces destroyed the launch platform in Sanaa used in the attack. The coalition stated on social media that strikes on civilian sites would not go unpunished.
The United States Embassy in Riyadh advised American citizens in Saudi Arabia to exercise heightened vigilance against aerial attacks.
Cross-border attacks increased after fighting resumed in Yemen in July, ending a United Nations truce set in April 2022. The renewed fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people. Houthi forces advanced in September across coastal zones in Taiz and Hudaydah provinces near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Saudi Arabia has led the coalition since March 2015 to support Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The coalition said it launched retaliatory strikes destroying 82 Houthi targets across several provinces, including depots, command facilities, and launch pads.
Yemeni government ground forces backed by coalition air support have begun a counteroffensive to retake Sanaa and coastal positions along the Red Sea.
Saudi civil aviation and security officials are completing damage assessments to determine safety measures and reinforcements for civilian facilities.
